![](\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/static-assets\/images\/newsletter\/sport\/sport-135x135.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Leon Smith is expecting a highly motivated Switzerland on the other side of the net as Great Britain try to maintain their Davis Cup momentum in Manchester on Friday.<\/p>\n
Britain began their campaign at a packed AO Arena on Wednesday with a 2-1 upset victory over last year\u2019s runners-up Australia.<\/p>\n
That gave them a great chance of righting the wrongs of last year, when they were eliminated after only two matches of the group stage in Glasgow, and progressing to finals week in Malaga in November but there is still a lot of work to do.<\/p>\n
Switzerland, led by three-time grand slam champion Stan Wawrinka, are already in the last-chance saloon having lost 3-0 to France in their opener on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2022\/11\/30\/15\/GettyImages-1388382959%20copy.jpg\")
\n![](\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2022\/12\/01\/03\/GettyImages-1245251240.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is just the start, that\u2019s what we talked about,\u201d said captain Smith after watching debutant Jack Draper and Dan Evans pull off impressive wins against Thanasi Kokkinakis and Alex De Minaur, respectively.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got a massive match on Friday against Switzerland, who obviously lost 3-0 so they\u2019re going to have to come out and do something.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re going to have high motivation and they\u2019ll be playing with a crowd this time, which obviously Stan wasn\u2019t happy with the other day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wawrinka took to social media to voice his dissatisfaction with the small turnout for their meeting against France but a similar crowd to Wednesday\u2019s 9,290 is expected on Friday.<\/p>\n
Given their performances against Australia, Evans and Draper are the front-runners to keep their singles spots ahead of top-ranked Cameron Norrie and Andy Murray, but Smith may yet spring another surprise.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/static-assets\/images\/mobile-stores\/Amazon_Prime.svg\")
<\/p>\n
Access unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows with Amazon Prime Video<\/p>\n
Sign up now for a 30-day free trial<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Access unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows with Amazon Prime Video<\/p>\n
Sign up now for a 30-day free trial<\/p>\n
Evans had a strong record against De Minaur but has lost all five meetings with Wawrinka, while Swiss number two Dominic Stricker beat fellow 21-year-old Draper at last year\u2019s Next Gen ATP Finals in their only previous match.<\/p>\n
Smith welcomes the dilemma, though, adding: \u201cPeople keep saying you\u2019ve got really difficult selections \u2013 well, I\u2019d rather that way to what it was many moons ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s great, I think it\u2019s testament to all the guys that everyone\u2019s playing at the top of their game.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got to weigh everything up because people have played a lot of tennis as well, potentially look at match-ups, but we discuss it as a group and ultimately we\u2019ll make a call on it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Draper has managed only 10 tournaments this season because of a succession of injuries, the latest of which to his left shoulder saw him retire at the French Open and then miss Wimbledon, dropping him out of the top 100.<\/p>\n
But time on the sidelines has not affected the Londoner\u2019s ability to look like a top-10 player in the making and a run to the fourth-round of the US Open was his best yet at a grand slam.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been an incredibly challenging year for me,\u201d he said. \u201cI started the year at 38 in the world, everything was going great, and then just got hit by a load of injuries really. Maybe a few mistakes that I\u2019ll learn from and stuff I could have done better.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe one before Wimbledon was a real blow, I couldn\u2019t play for a month or two, I spent loads of time in a bit of a rut trying to get out of it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI worked really hard to get myself back, I knew my time would come again because my tennis has always been there.<\/p>\n
\u201cNew York was a massive boost for me, I needed it. Then coming here I\u2019ve been really confident.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s all coming together so hopefully I can just keep on going to the end of the season and finish really strong.\u201d<\/p>\n
Australia kept their hopes of qualification alive by coming from behind to defeat France 2-1.<\/p>\n
Adrian Mannarino beat Max Purcell but De Minaur put Wednesday\u2019s disappointment behind him by defeating Ugo Humbert and Purcell and Matt Ebden claimed the deciding doubles rubber.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2023\/09\/14\/19\/a9c86f17b4b0132033c7b20f80b3e6f5Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNjk0ODAwODQ4-2.73721245.jpg\")
\n![](\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2023\/09\/14\/18\/ae5c0d884077cbd647f9199878b00003Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNjk0Nzk3NDI5-2.73722416.jpg\")
\n![](\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2023\/09\/14\/18\/d59d9b82be274b1d7e69b1e177fd0904Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNjk0Nzk2NDc4-2.73722424.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
The result means qualification for the quarter-finals is likely to go down to Britain\u2019s final clash with France on Sunday.<\/p>\n
In the other groups, being played across Europe, defending champions Canada claimed their second win while the Netherlands upset the US.<\/p>\n